Bookbinding tape



April 8, 1959 E. E. FALBERG 3,437,506

sooxsmnme TAPE Filed Dec. 28, 1964 FIG. 5

INVENTOR EDWARD E. FALBERG BY Wm,

fim y ATTORNEYS United tates Fatent 3,437,506 BOOKBINDING TAPE Edward E. Falherg, Naperville, Ill., assignor to Joanna Western Mills Company, Chicago, Ill. Filed Dec. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 421,462 Int. Cl. B42c 9/00 US. Cl. 11744 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Bookbinding tape comprising an elongated fabric tape with three longitudinal stripes of heat-scalable adhesive thereon, one stripe being located centrally on one side of the tape and having a width approximately equal to the thickness of the pages of the book being bound, and the other two stripes of adhesive being located on the reverse side of the tape adjacent the edges thereon. This tape has uncoated portions between the stripes of adhesive to serve as hinges for the cover of the resulting book.

This application relates to an improved bookbinding tape. More particularly, this application relates to a bookbinding tape having stripes of adhesive on both sides thereof so arranged so that the tape can be used to securely bind a gathering of signatures to the cover in a one-step operation.

In the conventional bookbinding operation, signatures, that is, a number of groups of folded sheets which eventually become pages of the book, are gathered or assembled in sequence for binding. The folds of the signatures are notched and the edges of the folds are coated with an animal glue. Cloth is applied to the glue and trimmed. The gathering of signatures is then rounded and may or may not be stitched or stapled together. In inexpensive books the stitching or stapling is omitted. Then the case or cover is applied with animal glue. Ordinarily an end sheet is glued to the cloth binding and affixed to the inside surfaces of the cover.

The conventional book binding procedure is relatively complicated and expensive in that it involves the several distinct steps. Furthermore, books so bound are not always as strong as they might be, particularly when stitch ing or stapling of the gathering of signatures is omitted. As is well known, it is relatively simple to break the binding of a book with careless handling. Consequently, there has long been a need for an improved method and material for bookbinding.

It is an object of this invention to provide a bookbinding tape which simplifies and improves the binding of a gathering of signatures into the case or cover of a book. It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved bookbinding tape comprising tape coated on both sides with stripes of adhesive so positioned that a gathering of signatures may be bound into a case or cover in a single operation. A further object is to provide a bookbinding tape of the type described which provides improved strength and flexibility to bound books. These and other objects are apparent from and are achieved in accordance with the following disclosure taken in conjunction with the attached drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a bookbinding tape showing the adhesive distributed in stripes running longitudinally on both sides of the tape adjacent the edges thereof;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view of the improved bookbinding tape take along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a piece of my bookbinding tape showing the three stripes of adhesive;

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of a gathering of ice signatures showing my bookbinding tape applied thereto; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of a book with the case or cover affixed to the gathering of signatures by means of my bookbinding tape.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, the bookbinding tape comprises a base of flexible material 11, preferably of woven material such as woven cotton tape, to which three stripes of heat-scalable adhesive coating are applied, two of the stripes 12 and 13 being on one side of the tape and the third stripe 14 being on the opposite side of the tape. The stripes of adhesive 12, 13 and 14 are so arranged that there are two areas 17 and 18 of the tape 11 which do not have adhesive on either side thereof. These areas allow for flexibility and operate as hinges in the final book.

The tape 11 is preferably a woven fabric of fiber such as cotton, rayon or synthetic fibers including nylon, polyester resins and polyacrylic resins. It also can be made of non-woven fabric which is known as spun bond in the trade. The tape can also be coated or saturated paper as well as plastic films of cellophane, vinyl resins, acrylic resins, polyester resins, polyamide resins and the like. When the tape 11 is of woven fabric, it is generally sized to aid in maintaining the adhesive in the areas to which it is applied. Two-way stretch fabrics may also be used. The ability to stretch along the spine of the book is not important but ability to stretch on a line to the spine is.

The adhesive which forms the stripes 12, 13 and 14 on the flexible tape 11 is a heat-scalable adhesive, preferably one which can be sealed at a temperature in the range from to 450 F. A suitable adhesive is one made of a vinyl plastic with paraflin wax admixed therein. A preferred adhesive is a tough, flexible copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate containing 60% or more of paraflin wax produced by dissolving the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer in the melted wax. It is heat-sealable at 180-200 F. When heat is applied to stripes of this adhesive material, the wax melts and carries the copolymer with it into the interstices of the tape and the other materials to which the adhesive is applied. Other heatsealable materials such as synthetic rubber and rosin can also be used. Preferred commercial adhesives are Elvax adhesive of the Du Pont Company, which is a copolymer of ethylene and l020% vinyl acetate containing paraflin wax, Epolene adhesive of Eastman Chemical Products, Inc., which is a low molecular weight polyethylene adhesive and an adhesive made by Illinois Adhesive Company which is a low molecular weight polyethylenepar-affin wax combination which forms a particularly desirable heat-scalable adhesive.

In the preparation of the bookbinding tape which comprises this invention a fabric of suitable weight is striped on both sides with an adhesive as shown in FIGURE 2. The thickness of the stripes of adhesive is preferably approximately equal to the thickness of the tape. Generally the adhesive is applied in a film of 0.010.02 inch thick by a roller, knife or stencil, the stripes of adhesive being of appropriate width with respect to the width of the tape. In the bookbinding tape, the width of the center stripe of adhesive 14 is substantially equal to the thickness of the gathering of signatures (that is, the thickness of the pages of the book). It is desirable that the width be not less than the thickness of the gathering and it is generally advisable not to have it substantially exceed the width of the gathering because it represents a waste of adhesive without concomitant advantage. The edge stripes of adhesive 12 and 13 are of a width which provides adequate adhesion of the cover to the tape 11, usually about A to inch in width. Between the pairs of stripes 12 and 14 and 13 and 14 are two sections or areas of the tape 11 which are not coated with adhesive on either side. These sections act as hinges for the cover and are of a suitable width for hinges, usually about to inch.

In a typical 'bookbinding tape a woven cotton tape 1%,; inch wide was coated on one side with two stripes inch Wide and 0.01 to 0.015 inch thick adjacent the edge of the tape. At the same time a stripe of adhesive Vs inch wide was applied in the center part of the opposite side of the tape, leaving two areas 17 and 18 of uncoated tape about inch wide on each side of the center stripe of adhesive to serve as hinges in the book. The width of the areas 17 and 18 is chosen to conveniently fold around the gathering of signatures as shown in FIGURE 4.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the central stripe of adhesive 14 is applied to the folded edges of a gathering of signatures 16, the hinge areas 17 and 18 are folded around the gathering of signatures so that the stripes of adhesive 12 and 13 project outwardly from the gathering of signatures wrapped in the tape 11. Then, as shown in FIGURE 5, a cover or case 20 having hinges or flexible areas 21 and 22 and a spine 23 is positioned around the gathering of signatures encased in the tape 11 and the gathering, tape with adhesive and case or cover are then pressed with heat, preferably at about 180 F. The heat causes the stripes of adhesive .12 and 13 to seal the tape 11 to the cover of the book and at the same time to seal the stripe of adhesive 14 to the edges of the signatures and bind the latter to the tape 11. As a result, the signatures are bonded to the tape 11 which in turn is bonded to the case or cover 20 to form a complete binding for the resultant book.

The improved tape of this application provides a dry operation which only requires the application of heat to bind a book. The operation is much faster and more efficient than the conventional procedure. Bindings made in accordance with this application have the additional advantage of being waterproof.

I claim:

1. Bookbinding tape comprising an elongated fabric tape with three longitudinal stripes of heat-scalable adhesive thereon, one stripe being located centrally on one side of the tape and having a width substantially equal to the thickness of the pages of the book to be bound, and the other two stripes of adhesive being located on the other side of the tape adjacent the edges thereof, the width of the other two stripes of adhesive being such that two sections of said tape are uncoated on both sides, each defined between said centrally located stripe and one of said other two stripes thereby operating as hinges for the cover of the resulting book.

2. Bookbinding tape as defined by claim 1 wherein the stripes of adhesive have a thickness approximately equal to the thickness of the tape.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 855,322 5/1907 Maccallum 117l22 X 1,168,254 1/1916 Frisch et al 117-44 2,3 87,593 10/ 1945 Lesser. 2,523,860 9/1950 Budden. 2,984,342 5/1961 Smith 117-44 X 3,025,167 3/1962 Butler. 3,040,963 6/1962 Turpin.

WILLIAM D. MARTIN, Primary Examiner.

H. I. GWINNELL, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 117-685, 122 

